Rio to Host 2016 Olympics. Is Anyone Really Surprised?
So Rio got the nod for the 2016 Olympics. How could anyone be surprised? It had to be the sentimental favorite. The U.S. has hosted the Olympics six times - two cities have hosted it twice! Japan has hosted the Olympics twice, and Spain has hosted it once. So Brazil, and more importantly South America, who have never hosted an Olympics had to get one just for fairness.
Certainly Rio has a lot to do in the next seven years. It does not have as many facilities already built as do Chicago, Madrid and Tokyo. It has rampant poverty that is all too visible in the favelas. It also has a very high crime rate. Perhaps Brazil can now address some of the domestic problems that have been neglected for years. After all, it wants to present its best face to the rest of the world.
President Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, and the mayor of Chicago all went to Denmark to try to convince the committee that Chicago should get the nod. Yet it lost out in the first round of balloting. Some will say that the President wasted his time and prestige. But he would have been criticized no matter what. If he didn't go, many would say that he didn't use his rock star status in Europe to press for the bid. Now he is being criticized for going for too short a time. He can't win no matter what he does.
Chicago supporters should know that there is always 2020. There is no reason that the same bid couldn't be presented again. This time there would be eleven years to prepare instead of seven.
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